1. Field of the Invention
This invention is generally directed to a device which may be utilized with commercial type deep-fat fryers for raising and lowering cooking baskets utilized in such fryers. More specifically, the invention is directed to a heavy-duty fryer basket lift assembly which allows for one or more cooking baskets to be automatically lowered into a fryer tub and, after a predetermined time, raised from the fryer tub after food products within the baskets have been cooked.
2. History of the Related Art
The use of deep-fry fryers for cooking food products is well known in commercial, institutional, as well as governmental food service operations. The cooking oils utilized in such deep-fat fryers are elevated in temperature to a point where economical and efficient cooking times are achievable for preparing a variety of fried foods. When cooking chicken parts or other fried foods in a commercial or institutional kitchen in large amounts, the chicken parts are simply dropped inside the fryer into the hot oil. There is a heat exchange tube screen in the bottom of the fryer to prevent chicken from coming in contact with the hot heat exchanger which heats the oil. A basket is not used as the chicken parts must be allowed to float freely inside of the fryer to prevent the chicken parts from sticking together during cooking.
For instance, as many as 60 pieces of chicken may be dropped into the hot fryer oil at one time. This means that approximately twenty (20) to twenty-five (25) pounds of cooked chicken must be taken from the fryer after it is cooked. The current method of removing the chicken, or other fried food, incorporates a hand held basket type scoop which is used to scoop the chicken from the fryer oil.
One of the greatest hazards associated with the food service industry is exposure of cooks and other employees to the hot oil utilized in deep-fat fryers. Such oil is not only potentially hazardous due to the high temperature at which the oil is maintained in order to insure proper cooking of foods, but the oil, if spilled onto adjacent equipment or floor surfaces, creates dangerous conditions which can lead to bodily injury due to falls. The manual scooping of cook foods from large fryers contributes to such conditions.
In smaller deep-fat fryers, baskets having elongated handles are used to retain the food being cooked. The use of manually lifted baskets, however, is inherently unsafe. Even if the quantity of food being cooked is relatively small and therefore the weight of the food product not a significant factor, workers are directly exposed to the hot cooking oil and the possible spattering of the oil when a fryer basket is lowered or raised into the oil. Also, as with large fryers, foods can easily be overcooked when reliance is placed on manual removal of the cooking a basket from a fryer.
As previously mentioned, a major problem associated with the food services industry, which is directly related to the preparation of deep-fat fried foods, is in maintaining a consistency of quality in the prepared product. In order to overcome this problem, controls have been specifically designed for monitoring the temperature of the cooking oil and the cooking time for deep-fat fryers depending upon the quantity and type of food which is being cooked. In this respect, it is desirable to make the cooking process as automated as possible and to take out of the cooking process any possibility of human error such as in either removing a product from a cooking oil before it is fully cooked or in leaving the product in the cooking oil to a point at which the product is overcooked. There is great diversity in the cooking time or cycle of products immersed in cooking oil. In those instances where the product must be manually lowered or manually raised from the cooking oil, not only does the time of immersion vary from the time of introduction of the food product, but the response time of an individual raising the product from the cooking oil also varies greatly.
In view of the foregoing, there is a need to provide a safer and more reliable manner in which to manipulate foods being introduced into and being removed from deep-fat fryers. Further, there is a need to provide for the automated handling of bulk foods being cooked in deep-fat fryers to ensure quality control of such foods.